In winning his eighth consecutive Starlet Stakes (G2) and 11th overall, trainer Bob Baffert is also giving owners Charlie and Susan Chu a very impressive streak. Tenma became the fourth filly owned by the Chus' Baoma to take the Los Alamitos Race Course race, following Bast in 2019, Varda in 2020, and Eda in 2021.
Despite Baffert's dominance in the Starlet, none of his three entrants went off favored in the 1 1/16-mile, $201,000 race. Instead, bettors favored stakes-winning Vodka With a Twist, most recently second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) for trainer Phil D'Amato, at just over 8-5. Tenma was the 5-2 second choice, with Baffert trainees Nooni 7-2 and Mawu 16-1.
Juan Hernandez was piloting Tenma for the first time. He sent her to the front, where the race quickly turned into a duel between Tenma and Look Forward, a filly making just her second start. Though the other five fillies shuffled back and forth to get position, none could challenge the leading pair.
Tenma was responsible for the first two fractions of :23.41 and :48.25. As they rounded the second turn, the battle intensified. Tenma and Look Forward duked it out head and head, pulling away from the others, first by two lengths, then by seven, and ultimately by nine lengths.
Though Look Forward never quit, Tenma's experience prevailed. She put away the gutsy Look Forward in the final sixteenth to score by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:44.16. Vodka With a Twist, racing in third through most of the trip, ended up a flat and well-beaten third at the wire, followed by Mawu, Nooni, Practical Dream, and Aunt Mo.
"I worked her before her first race and then again last week and she went really good," said Hernandez of Tenma. "With the blinkers off she relaxed perfectly and was really enjoying herself out there."
Second-place Look Forward is now trained by Michael McCarthy, who took over from his friend and mentor Ben Cecil. Cecil died Nov. 29, and Look Forward was his last winner, the filly having won Nov. 8 at Del Mar in her debut.
The Starlet is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, and Tenma earned 10 qualifying points with the victory. Also earning points were Look Forward (five), Vodka With a Twist (three), Mawu (two), and Nooni (one).
Baffert and his team purchased Tenma for the Chus for $850,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales April Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training from consignor Wavertree Stables. The filly was pinhooked out of the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where Stone Farm sold her for $200,000 to All Star Bloodstock.
Tenma debuted at Del Mar in the summer, winning a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race Aug. 18 by a neck. Baffert jumped her into the Sept. 7 Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1), and she came through like a pro, winning by a nose over Vodka With a Twist. Tenma has lost only once, when she finished third in the Oct. 5 Oak Leaf Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park after brushing the gate at the start.
"It's great to win the Starlet again," said Baffert. "She had been training really well. She took a step back after Del Mar, so that's why we decided to pass the Breeders' Cup. She was back to her old self, and I thought she would bring her A game today."
Bobby Flay Thoroughbreds bred Tenma in Kentucky from the Tapit mare Amagansett, an $875,000 Keeneland yearling purchased by Bobby Flay Thoroughbreds in 2018. Amagansett never raced, Tenma is her first foal to race, and the mare sold for $400,000 at Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale in 2023 to Kimura Hidenori.
Tenma, Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Immersive, Randomized, Johannes, Encino, and Nysos are 2024 graded winners sired by Nyquist . The stallion will stand for a 2025 stud fee of $175,000 at Darley near Lexington.
